US-based Syrian Christians eye new regime with mixture of hope and fear

Men ride a motorcycle past the rubble in Damascus, Syria, on 18 January 2025. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

For Los Angeles-based Armenag Bedrossian, the recent seismic changes in Syria that have seen the overthrow of the Assad regime are to be cautiously welcomed.

Over the past 13 years, the Armenian Catholic priest from Hasakah in north-east Syria has watched on as family members were kidnapped and killed by Isis during the country’s brutal war.